From the Director

Mission is always a challenging life. From the comforts of one’s home He will be taken. He will be blessed as he is formed and sent to mission. He will undergo formation where he will get to know the self more deeply, strengthen faith foundation and develop pastoral skills in organizing communities and being with the people. The formation period for lay missionaries lasts seven months. He will be blessed  as he is formed and sent to mission. Where he is  sent he will enter into a new life, meeting people he does not know, make friends with them , eat and live with them in the communities. He will journey with them in faith as he brings the Word of God to them in their BECs. Its not an easy task. There will be encounters of breaking of oneself in the process. There are people who will not accept the friendship he offers. There are many hardships along the way. But that is part of life responding to the His call, part of taking the cross. And as one endures in prayer, he is sharing his life, sharing God’s love to the people he is serving and journeying with. Such is a life lived following Jesus.

It is always inspiring to see people who go on offering themselves to mission no matter how challenging missionary life is. It is also uplifting to find priests who are very supportive of BECs and who want the lay people in their parish to take active part in the life of the church. It is always a joy to see a parish becoming fully alive as a community.

This is the task PCLM is doing for the church. This is the service our lay missioners are giving in the mission fields. And we will forever be grateful for the support of the bishops, our sponsors and benefactors who make it possible for us to do our missionary task. Together we are doing Christ’s mission. Mabuhay! – merlyn franco 12/30/18